I've finished working on a font which, unfortunately, doesn't show its name in the font drop down list in Word 2003. Remarkably, once chosen the font shows the correct name. It also shows up in font lists in other programs. Any idea if the problem is in the font or could it be an error in Word?

I'm afraid this post doesn't help. I *did* delete the FNTCACHE.DAT file, but after a reboot the font still refuses to show its identity. I'm pretty sure the font is OK, as the name can be seen in other applications like WordPad, Publisher, PopChar, and MainType. What can be the problem?

Thanks for sending the font file. I've installed it and I see no problems, as shown below.

One way to find out if this is due to a hiccup in Windows, is to open the font in FontCreator and then test the font by selecting Test in the Font menu. This will temporarily install the font. The name of the temporarily installed font looks like "FC Test Font 12345". So while the Test Font window is open, you will be able to check if the "test font" is shown in Word's font drop down list.

Note: When you open the Test Font window again you'll have to change the font's name in the application, because the temporary font name always changes.

Strange! After temporarily installing the font it shows its FC Test Font ##### name. After installing it properly the real name is invisible again. The how and why is beyond me.
Anyhow, thanks for looking into this problem so promptly!

I narrowed the problem down to a temporary file Microsoft Office creates to cache the previews, “fbc*.tmp” located in C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\. I deleted this file, restarted Word, and now the previews display correctly.

I installed a new font, displayed the new preview in the Word font menu pull-down, then immediately performed a search on drive c for all files created today and sorted the results list by Date Modified. The fbc file was right at the top.